Why March makes Goans go mad?
With March dawns not only a period of fun and frolic, feasts and festivals, but a period of water scarcities in Goa. On the occasion World Water Day last week, consumers staged a protest-cum-solidarity dharna against the Goa public works department in Panjim, demanding their long list of grievances be redressed at the earliest. Consumer forum volunteers from different parts of Goa participated in today's dharna. The people of Divar and St Estevam came out with empty pots and buckets, to protest about the inadequate water supply since their villages reel under the effect of a severe shortage of water.

Shigmo :Goa's Colourful Folk Festival
	Spring is here in Goa and with it the riot of colour that is synonymous with Shigmo. The celebrations which began last week to the beat of the giant dhol (drum) and symbols, with the throwing of coloured powder and colourful float parades in virtually all the talukas of Goa, will continue for a week.

Oil spill threat averted
A major ecological disaster, on Wednesday, threatened the coastline of Goa when 110 metric tons of heavy fuel oil spilled into the sea after a barge and a large marine vessel collided four nautical miles from Aguada. The mishap occurred at around 1 am on Wednesday when Prapti, a Goa based barge, and a bulk carrier MV Maritime Wisdom were to commence the process of transferring mineral ore from one vessel to the other. The oil spillage spread three miles in length and one mile in breadth and had reached 5.5 miles from the ship in 11 hours. Though late, authorities got into action spraying the area with dispersants and containing the spread of the oil slick, and averting a threat to marine ecology of the local coast.

Bond’s Wondrous Photographs
	Spain-born Sr Maria Doles Sueiras, Mother General of the Religious of Mary Immaculate, headquartered in Rome, set the right tone for a memorable cultural evening at St Anne's parish in Olaulim (Bardez) last month, when she lit the traditional lamp to mark the opening of an exhibition of exquisite photographs of the picturesque village clicked by netter Alphonso Bond Braganza since the time he set up residence there in 1986.
Speaking in Spanish Sr Sueiras, the chief guest, expressed her utter delight on being in Goa, where she claimed quite a lot of similarity with her native country, where a lot of Goan nuns of her religious order are working. In fact, the nuns of the Religious of Mary Immaculate have their house next to the church. She had a good, close look at the captivating photographs by Bond depicting the rural life and even a bit of Olaulim's rich past, and admired immensely the photographer's exceptional talent. Thereafter Sr Sueiras, guest of honour Thomas Vaz, several of Bond's artist friends and Olaulimkar's gathered in the church compound, were treated to a lovely cultural programme which featured Bond's singing daughter Veeam Alphonso, talented village youngsters besides the senior citizens, who rendered some nostalgic mando-dulpod items dressed in traditional attire, and a talented young lady playing the violin for accompaniment.

M Boyer honoured with Padma Shri
Goa’s veteran tiatrist M Boyer was included among the 85 celebrities from different walks of life who were honoured with Padma Awards by president APJ Abdul Kalam on March 28. At a glittering ceremony at the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President honoured eight Padma Vibhushan awardees, 25 Padma Bhushan awardees and 52 Padma Shri winners. Boyer, who has been ailing for quite some time and is unable to walk or even speak, was taken on a wheelchair to receive the honour. Besides Boyer the entire tiatr fraternity in Goa is excited about the recognition received by Konknai tiatr at the national level.

Cardinal Dias likely to succeed Pope John Paul II

With Pope John Paul II being hospitalized, his health has become a matter of concern and discussion at the Vatican as well as church circles all over the Christian world. On the question of who could succeed the ailing Pope, names of prelates from Asia, Africa and Latin America, including an Indian archbishop, prop up during discussions and in the media. In an article “Why The Next Pope May Be A Surprise” appearing in the international weekly magazine “Business Week”, the list of probables for the Pontiff’s post includes Mumbai’s Archbishop Ivan Dias, a friend of Mother Teresa.